The present invention refers to an improved measuring cup, adapted to separate, measure, and dispense a chosen amount of liquid foodstuff and to constitute a package or container for said liquids including the measuring device.
Measuring cups for foodstuffs are well known to the art. Conventionally, such are available in one cup and two cup sizes, sometimes larger. A typical, conventional measuring cup will be of translucent or preferably transparent material (at least in one vertical side portion of the wall), there being provided measuring indicia (11) as to quantity on one or two portions of the side wall. In the latter case, the indicia are typically 180°-opposed to one another on a cylindrical side wall. One or more grasping handles may be provided and one or more pouring spouts, as well.
Various prior art patents and Published patent applications, such as the ones listed in the Information Disclosure Statement enclosed in this application, address the issue of measuring cups and devices.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,360 to Rodriquez discloses and claims a measuring device which has a cooperative plastic measuring liquid dropper dispensing a precise volume of liquid directly into an integral plastic spoon bowl. The spoon bowl is integrally foldably hinged to the dispensing tip of the medicine dropper by an integral plastic hinge. An integral plastic snap lock projection disposed on the outer surface of the dropper retains the spoon bowl in a compact storage position in a bottle of liquid.
With reference to the Spoon Dropper disclosed and claimed by the Rodriquez patent, the prior art requires the use of a spoon in any event while the present invention totally eliminates the need for a spoon, hence eliminating the spills that may be associated with using a spoon to dispense liquids. The results produced by the present invention, when compared with the Rodriquez patent, involve less waste and mess, reducing then also the cleaning time.
Recently U.S. Patent Published application 2007/0113920 to Bronner discloses a measuring bottle cap that attaches to the neck of a bottle. Under the teachings of the Bronner application the measuring bottle cap has a seal for sealing the top of the bottle to prevent fluid within the bottle from leaving the bottle, a cylinder that fits over the neck and is fixed to the seal, an annular ring having an inside edge that is fixed to the cylinder and an outside edge that is displaced away from the cylinder, and sides that extend upward from the outside edge of the annular ring. Bonner additionally discloses that sides, annular ring, cylinder, and seal form a cup for holding a liquid. The inside edge of the annular ring may be fixed to the top or the bottom of the cylinder. The sides of the measuring bottle cap may be marked with gradations to indicate the amount of fluid held by the cup. The cup may be sealed with a lid.
On the other hand, the Bronner patent application does not teach a dropper and the cup area is designed to serve as a cap for a container in addition to a measuring cup. The Bronner invention seems to be designed to measure large amounts of liquids while not capable of measuring small and large amounts, such as those required for cooking and baking.
Cooks and housewives are well aware of certain problems with respect to measuring particular types of foodstuffs such as liquids. If an excessive amount of liquid is poured into a measuring cup or measuring spoon, it is not always practical to recycle the excess by returning it to the container. If the measuring cup is used to measure multiple liquids it may become contaminated with traces of the previous liquid, and returning the excess liquid into its original container may not be sanitary or a best practice. There is no risk of such contamination with the device of the present invention as the liquid product has its own container and only one liquid is dispensed from such container.
In addition, most of the prior art devices are complicated to use, require mobile parts and may not be practical to clean, while the device of the present invention is simpler and requires fewer steps to dispense liquid.
Some of the prior art devices, such as the Rodriquez patent are focused on specific drug dispensing applications, while the object of the present invention has been designed to be more versatile and it adapts to more uses: for example, it can be used to dispense cooking and household liquids, in addition to medicines.
While the Rodriquez patent teaches the use of a spoon, this patent is directed to a measuring device interpreted in its broadest sense, so that different sizes of cups, or other containers can be adapted to practice this invention depending on the requirements of the user.
Finally, still with respect to the prior art, spoon droppers are less sanitary since they need to be handled and unfolded prior to dispensing the medicine while there is no handling of inside components of the present invention, except when washing is required.
Recognizing the problem of measuring the proper amount of an ingredient is not sufficiently addressed by the prior art devices, containers, and the like. It is the solution of the problem of adequate measuring and dispensing, together with the solution of the problem of handling and removing the type of liquid foodstuffs in question which is the subject of this invention.